The history books detailing the recent Great Recession will include plenty of obvious chapters: the subprime mortgage crisis, Wall Street bailouts, housing bubbles, and skyrocketing unemployment. But those volumes might miss a less visible element of the economic collapse: the crippling credit...

There’s nothing cheesy about fromage.
Cheese is one of the most ancient man-made food products, dating back thousands of years. Today, it’s among the most popular ingredients in cuisine, with hundreds of varieties from dozens of countries around the world.
“When you talk about a food category,...

In an age when, according to Pew Research Center, one in three Americans owns a tablet and most adults use the Internet on their cell phones, it’s no surprise that businesses of all shapes and sizes are bringing in technology to bolster sales.
Innovative technologies are nothing new at quick-...

Taco Bell made news early this week with CEO Greg Creed’s announcement that the brand would scrap kids’ meals and toys by January 2014—all in the name of kicking up its edgy image and resonating with its target Millennial customers.
Though the move isn’t likely to create big waves financially—Creed...

Several quick-service restaurants are doubling down on their health and wellness efforts thanks to the new REAL Certification program from the United States Healthful Food Council (USHFC).
Established in 2011, the USHFC is a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit, nongovernmental organization dedicated...

Cathy Brown graduated from college as a mechanical engineer and spent time working with a government contractor to create guidance systems for cruise missiles. At one point she was also a high-school math teacher.
She eventually landed in the quick-service industry, and in 2009, Brown was tasked...

Caffeine-packed energy drinks may get their fair share of flak, but today’s on-the-go consumers continue to seek a quick and tasty pick-me-up. And with its new Pure Recharge Smoothie, beverage brand Smoothie King thinks it has the solution—without all of the artificial ingredients common in many...

One of the most common questions in foodservice—White or wheat?—has grown to include a new option: pretzel. Quick-service restaurants across the country are capitalizing on a new pretzel-bread trend, taking one of the most popular summer snacks and working it into innovative new menu options.
“...

With 20 entries on QSR’s Growth 40 report, an annual listing of the 40 U.S. markets best positioned for quick-service restaurant expansion, the South’s dominance shines from Florida to Texas and up to the Mason-Dixon line in markets big and small.

The launch of a new product line is a noteworthy event for any quick-serve. But for Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, its new potato chips are a mere side item to a meatier rollout: a foundation to benefit law enforcement officers and firefighters.

Asking how a chain and an independent restaurant differ may seem like a deceptively simple question, with the most obvious answer being that independents have one unit—or maybe two, according to an official definition from The NPD Group—while chains are larger in both size and scale.

The fast-casual renaissance that has taken over the restaurant industry in the last decade has lately infused excitement and momentum into the broader limited-service sector. Market research firm Mintel found that sales at fast-casual restaurants grew 10.5 percent last year, compared with 6.1...

When Lori Newcomb found out she had stage III ovarian cancer last year, she made it her mission to learn more about the disease and help other women fighting the same battle. She sat down with her husband, Chris Newcomb, cofounder and CEO of Southern quick-service chain Newk’s Eatery, and together...

When fast-casual chain Zoës Kitchen Inc. debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last April, the Plano, Texas–based Mediterranean-style eatery recorded its initial public offering at $87.5 million. Satisfying an investor appetite for investments within the trendy fast-casual space, Zoës’ strong...

Convenience stores are increasingly taking a larger slice out of the quick-serve pie with fresh food offerings. It’s become such a lucrative business for C-stores that Sheetz, the Pennsylvania-based C-store chain that this week opened its 500th location, is planning stores designed more as fast...

Though U.S. consumption is well below other proteins today, seafood will likely be an increasingly important part of the American diet in the years to come. The country’s population is predicted to grow by 89 million between 2010 and 2050 to 401 million people. More people require more food—and...

While the fast-casual category continues to be the fastest-growing industry sector, the road in 2015 will be bumpy. We will see constant change and challenges around every corner. For industry leaders, there are issues that will keep even the most seasoned executive awake at night.
Here is my top...

Kevin Kester’s family has been farming in the U.S. for generations. And it’s not just a couple of generations they’ve been farming; more like generations upon generations, way back to the 1600s, specifically in California since the 1860s. Today, Kester owns a 22,000-acre beef cattle ranch in...